@connections It really does depend on the school. Many schools will only consider you for merit aid (non-need) if you fill out the fafsa and are in the system. Still other schools will only let you get financial aid at another time (let’s say as a junior a parent is now unemployed) if you initially filed the fafsa as a freshman. Once you know where you’re applying, ask each school specifically what they advise.
@uskoolfish, absolutely. But my main point was that by applying for financial aid, you lower your chances of getting in to begin with. If you need financial aid, great. I myself have been doing FAFSA for nearly 10 years now. But I find that many parents are not aware that the vast majority of schools are not need blind. This means that if you can pay full freight, you stand a higher chance of getting in. It’s just reality in our economy. So if you apply for FAFSA, do so with full knowledge of all the pros and cons.
Once you’re accepted, yes, as I’ve said, there are internal grants & scholarships that are tied to need.
Are there really colleges that don’t allow you to apply for FAFSA if you didn’t apply as a Freshman? Wow, I’d never heard that. You’d think they’d understand change in circumstance! If you’re worried that your circumstances can substantively change sometime in the future but you don’t need financial aid now, you can either apply for FAFSA and know you lower your chance of getting in but perhaps you have more peace of mind, or yes, you can ask each individual college if they allow you to apply Soph, Junior or Senior year if you didn’t apply as a Freshman. However, be aware that sometimes the verbal answer you get from a financial aid office may not be accurate.
A lot to weigh!
@connections I’m confused… so if we fill out the FAFSA since a lot of schools want it to be considered for scholarships…then they will hold it against you for admissions? What if you’re only filling it out for the merit aid from the school requirements and not going to be getting any federal aid? We won’t qualify for federal aid but we’re filing FAFSA anyway so the school has it for merit based scholarships etc…
Are you saying they would use whether you simply stated you were filling out the FAFSA against you or if you ended up qualifying for federal aid & THEN that affecting admission decision?
For MT, admissions is likely based mainly on the audition. I suspect that in most cases, the auditors aren’t even aware of whether a particular applicant has filed FAFSA. With regard to merit scholarships, my D got merit aid at almost every school that offered it that she was accepted to academically and we didn’t fill out FAFSA. We knew we wouldn’t qualify for financial aid so there didn’t seem to be a point.
I know what connections is saying as I’ve heard that myself but I don’t really think that filling out the FAFSA signals need vs. full pay status and therefore it’s not the thing to worry about. Even Bill Gates ’ s kids would fill out a FAFSA if they wanted to take out Federal Direct Loans in their own names as part of how their education was paid for and they would be awarded the exact same amount in Direct Loans as a student with high need with the only difference being whether the loans would be interest subsidized or not. These are federal programs and none of it involves the schools own funds so why would they care?
A college needs more than the checking of a box to determine your ability to pay. But yes like connections mentioned I have heard from professional admissions who lecture on the subject that all else being equal, a school does want and need their share of full pay students to make the math work for those who need help and under some circumstances, no need can be an advantage. But if that’s not the situation you are in there is no point in worrying about it. You ‘gotta’ do what you ‘gotta’ do.
Parents around here were always counseled by college consultants and high school advisors to fill out FAFSA. However our state flagship is an expensive one and many kids from D’s high shool go out of state and/or to private colleges. Most people need some sort of grant or aid or loan to help. Not many people can pay $65k a year out of pocket.
In any event, it doesn’t seem to have hurt anyone we know.
Also- don’t assume you won’t qualify for aid.
I assumed my D wouldn’t get any need based aid due to our EFC - but she did, along with merit money, from most schools she was accepted to. The need based aid was generally small amounts - but it still helps.
My point is that you really dont know until you get a schools offer if you will qualify for aid or not. If you know you can pay cash for the total COA, then you probably won’t qualify, but most people can’t afford to do that.
Personally, I think filling out fafsa is smart and probably will not deter admission in most cases. Most schools these days advertise how they provide aid to the majority of students. They may not meet full need, but they may give work study or small grants, subsidized loans, etc.
Need blind admissions is not the same as
Meeting full need. Yes, there are non-need blind admission schools- but this should be info available to you before applying. If concerned look up a schools policy or call And ask.
As I have said previously, everyone we know fills the fafsa out… Regardless of income or perceived need.
It hasn’t seemed to hurt anyone we know. (I’m not saying it can’t- we just haven’t witnessed it).
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You can calculate your expected family contribution so no need to guess whether FAFSA is needed. https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/2017-18-efc-formula.pdf
@janact, it’s not that straight forward. EFC with respect to FAFSA only tells part of the story at some colleges/universities but not all of it. There is also the CSS profile that is required by many schools as well that tells the rest and includes a much greater disclosure of assets in addition to income. I know examples of people that via the FAFSA look like their expected family contribution will get them zero in financial aid (including subsidized loans and work study) who get need-based aid (of which subsidized loans and work study are a part of as they both require some level of qualifying need) AND I’ve known pp with an EFC calculated by the FAFSA that look aid-eligible based on income but with assets that mean they get nothing from the school.
I think all schools require the FAFSA for aid applications. (Yes?) but not all require the CSS which is a bit pain in the neck. The FAFSA is relatively easy to file and there is little reason not to other than privacy.
I don’t think there is a cut and dry answer to filling out the FAFSA. I think if you require federal loans you should do it. With my first child non MT I didn’t fill out FAFSA and I thought perhaps she didn’t gain acceptance to certain schools because of it. Looking back that probably wasn’t the case. At private schools she got some merit money. She applied out of state for Florida public colleges. Very competitive admissions for out of state students because of Florida Bright Futures and Florida prepaid. So what I’m getting at is that there are many factors that go into to admissions and financial aid and every student is different. I don’t think you get penalized if you do or don’t fill out the FAFSA. And in terms of MT it’s about the audition and at some schools they care about academics and some they don’t. You’re well advised to scour each school’s. website to decide your best approach. And if you need federal aid fill out FAFSA.
I was at a college financial planning seminar Thursday night. (Running tech during presentation) and the presenter advocated all applicants filling out FAFSA regardless of school or need. She said it would not count against an applicant. I have no idea how qualified she is (she works for an organization my HS brings in every year.) But she specifically said everyone should fill it out.
@toowonderful I’ve been told the same. Fill out the FAFSA, no matter what you think you might need.
I’ll try to be clear.
I’m not talking about individual people; I’m talking about overall stats. Overall, it is a fact, not an opinion, that the vast majority of schools are not need blind. This means that it is a fact that you statistically decrease your chances by applying for financial aid.
In many schools there is literally a box you check asking if you intend to apply for financial aid. If you check that box, you lower your chances. Does that mean you should not check the box? NO! All 5 of my own kids have checked the box. We need the aid. And it worked out just fine for us.
However, I’ve seen people check the boxes because they want to teach their kids responsibility and want them to take out a small loan, not so much because they need the money. While that is an admirable goal, some parents do this not knowing that it will lower their kid’s chances of admission. Or they apply for aid not so much because they need the money as they would prefer to pay tens of thousands less per year (and who can blame them??). I am simply making folks aware that the fact that colleges are not need blind is definitely something to be taken into account. I’m providing information. I’m not telling people not to apply.
It is also a fact that when you fill out the FAFSA, you add the colleges you intend to apply to (up to 10). Some colleges then use this information to add that to data they will use in admissions, whether or not you take it any further. Just caveat emptor, that’s all.
As far as filling out FAFSA to be eligible for need based merit grants, and overall need based grants–Again, yes, absolutely, if you need the money, fill it out. If you can’t go to a college at, say, $65K/year, then there is no sense in not applying for aid–if you got in, you wouldn’t be able to go without the aid anyway. Or you can fill it out knowing that it may lower the student’s chances, but you do it knowingly because you want the need based merit for whatever reason.
On a side note, there are other ways FAFSA is used it is good to be aware of. Up until 2014 the order in which you listed the colleges in FAFSA was used by some colleges to indicate student interest–the idea was that the first college you list was the one you’d be most interested in. Thus, the college listed 10th might reject you because of yield; they wanted as high a percentage as possible of accepted students to matriculate. Also the college listed 1st might not give you as much financial aid since the chances were high you were going there anyway. FAFSA says they are no longer giving the colleges this information–however, it’s still being used for state grants. To quote one source: “We have found it’s very predictive of enrollment,” Ballmann said. State agencies have found that students tend to enroll at the first college they list on the FAFSA more than 70 percent of the time, he said…Several states, such as Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts and New Jersey, set aside grant awards for students based on whether they list a participating in-state institution first on the FAFSA form, according to Ballmann. About 10 additional states use the students’ ordering of colleges on the FAFSA for planning and budgeting how many state grant awards they may need to award.”
I don’t mean to stress people out. I just think knowledge is power.
Even if schools are concerned about need, they are not going to base your “need” only off of whether or not you filled out the FAFSA. They know there are many reasons to fill out FAFSA just as they know theirs is not the only school to which you are applying. College counselors here recommend everyone fill out the FAFSA for many of the reasons already stated. It is quick and easy to fill out. We did not qualify for any aid and never really anticipated qualifying for any, but we do have to file it each year for Ds merit scholarships. I do not think it adversely effected her acceptance at any school.
With kid 1 in 2015 (S, an athlete) we didn’t qualify for AID-but it gave 2 private D2 schools an opportunity to send us an offer, basically: Options on how to make it affordable-a combination of merit scholarship, the option to do work study, the option to borrow. So now I personally will always fill it out-because A. We have kid 2 (D, MT) going to school-and you never know if 2 kids in school will afford us some aid, and B. The answer is always no-unless you ask.
It has never affected in-state public school tuition, but my oldest DS that goes to a private university did receive some funding when my DS started college. He got nothing except Federal loan options. It think it’s definitely worth the time and energy to fill it out. I just filled out the FAFSA three times this morning – starting our next DS in this process!
I’d suggest looking at it this way. It’s not that applying for aid puts you at a disadvantage, rather it’s that those who indicate they will not apply for aid have an advantage that you don’t have if you are applying for aid. Now before one thinks that means the same thing I’d offer that those who don’t need to apply for financial aid are already at an advantage because in theory, they can attend a broader range of schools independent of an aid award which makes the question of to check or not to check, more or less business as usual. Or to paraphrase what @connections says above, there is no sense in not applying for aid if you need it to go because without it, you won’t be going anyway.
Change of subject-but still Class of 2021-relevant: D just cut 3 schools off her list; bringing it from 16 BFA MTs to 13. Obviously-she has just begun, and she doesn’t know what acceptances, and rejections, she will receive. But this week we both separately had an epiphany that in her effort to “cast a wide net” she had some schools on her list that she really, really didn’t see herself at. These are top schools-not cut because of perceived caliber: But because enough is enough: If 13 programs (I would say that 4 of them are less competitive) don’t see a place for her-there are other options: A gap year, attending a school that accepted her and auditioning for transfer next year,…and maybe even reconsidering a BFA MT. This process is so much more fluid than we expected: D is doing all applications, prescreen filming & submission, and audition scheduling without my help and with minimal input…this is both scary for me, and liberating. I can be Mom. D understands that I am forever in her corner; but it is up to her to put forth this admirable (and incredible) effort. Honestly? My biggest concern is keeping her HEALTHY this fall/winter/spring!!!
I am having this same issue! If she doesn’t get in a school that the program is well developed and she can really learn, do I really want to pay for it? I kind of agree, if you audition for 15 schools, and don’t get in, has the market spoken? Or do you continue to pursue and take a gap year? I am looking at some of the schools and thinking do we really want to go there, even if we get in? So those may come off the list. I believe in the talent of my d… But factors such as type, grades, what they need, how you feel on audition day… It’s very subjective. Think about it … Some of these schools are choosing 12 out of 2500 on a 5 to 10 minute audition! Seems crazy… How could you ever really know? I think at some point you just have to have faith. We have the Jewish holidays off in our school district . And since we are not Jewish it will be college Central for the next 3 days. Apps, essays, working and preparing prescreens. Today she had a 6 hour rehearsal and the last 3 weeks have been overwhelmingly busy so it’s watch a movie … Take a breath. Anyone else finding the sheer enormity of the app situation on top of all the rehearsals for various things overwhelming? Tips for handling the stress?
@musicmama123 I agree with you-there is totally an element of faith/luck/FATE at play: D texted me a few days ago, hysterical, because a friend stated that one of her Top 5 schools had almost filled their audition spots. That was untrue-but I was proud of myself, for explaining to D that there ARE gonna be "no"s during this process-and that’s ok.
What? Audition spots are getting filled already?